Control apparatus



May 12, 1931. E. E. ROSE ET AL.

CONTROL APPARATUS Filed June l5, 1927 TNVENTORS Edward E Rose cmd Patented May 12, 1931 UNITED STATESy PATENT OFFICEy EDWARD EBSE, 'OF EDGEWOOD,VPENNSYLVANIA, AND JOHN T. WELSH, OF WESTFIELD,

NEW JERSEY; SAID. ROSE ASSG'NOR TO VESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTUR- ING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA,

CONTROL APPARATUS Application iled .Tune 16,

panyingv drawings, and comprises the -structural features and the combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the applicationV of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a more complete understanding of our invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a view, in side elevation, of a contactor constructed in accordance with our invention and showing the relativefpositions of the different members of the contacter when it is open;

Fig. 2 is a view, in side elevation, of the contaotor showing the relative positions of the members when the contactoris vin its closedl position; and

Fig. 3 is atop plan view of' the contactor shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings, the contactor comprises a base member 1` made of some suitable insulating material, a stationary contact-carrying member 2 mounted on the base land a cooperating movable contact-carrying member 3' which is pivotally supported in a frame member 4 secured tothe base 1. As shown, latching members 5 and 6`for locking the movable contact-carrying member in different positions are also mounted in the frame 4.

w lA -cam 7 for effecting the operation of they 1.927. Serial No. 199,146.V

contactor is arranged to operate the mechanism associated with the movable contactcarrying member 3. 'In this particular embodiment of our invention, we have illustrated the stationary contact-carrying member 2 mounted upon the base member 1 and secured thereto by a bolt 8 which. is also utilized to secure a blow-out coil 9 and arcing horns 11 disposed adjacent to the contact tips.

A contact tip 12 is pivotally mounted on the stationary contact-carrying member 2fby means of a pin 14. As shown, a spring 15 is interposed between the Contact carrying member 2 and the Contact tip 12 to bias the latter toward a predetermined position.

The bracket or frame 4 maybe of any suitable design, but, in the embodiment shown, in order to facilitate the mounting of the movable contact-carrying member 3, the frame is shaped to simulate a channel member. The movable contact-carrying member 3 is pivotally mounted in the frame 4 by means of a pin 16.

In order to operate the movable contactcarrying member l3, a pivotally-mounted actuating arm 18 and a spring 21 are provided. As shown, the actuating arm 18 is pivotally mounted at 19 in the forward end of the frame 4, and the spring 21 is tensioned and utilized to connect the actuating arm 18 to the Vcontact-carrying member 3. Pins 22 and 23 are provided on the arm 18 and member 3, respectively, to facilitate. the mounting of the spring 21.

In Figs. 1 and 2, a cam wheel 7 is shown rotatably mounted onshaft 24 and disposed in alinement with a roller 25 which is mounted on a depending projection formed integral with the actuating arm 18. In such construction, any suitable means, not shown, may be provided for actuating the shaft 24 to oscillate the actuating arm 18, and therefore, shift the line of action of the spring 21.`

As has been set forth hereinbefore, the spring is disposed to connect the movable contact member 3 and work arm 18. The dead-center line for the spring 21 extends through the pins 23 and 16. Therefore, when the spring 21 is moved across this line, the

an i Cul shaped as to overlap the lugs 28 and 29 lug 29 on the movable contact member 3 actuating arm 18 isbiased in the same direction. However, since the pin 23 cannot move into alinement with, or above, the pivot point of the actuating arm 18, the spring continuously biases'the arm18 towardfthe cam wheel 7. 1

In order to effect asnap action of the movable contact member 3 to break quickly any circuit and thereby reduce arcing to` a minimum, provision is made for locking the contact-carrying member 3 until the point of connection of the actuating arm 18 and the spring 21 has crossed dead center and almost reached the limit of its movement. The locking of the member may be effected in many ways and, in this case, latches 5 and 6 are provided.

The latches 5 and 6 are hook-shaped members and are pivotally supported in the frame Il by means of pins 26 and 27. A spring 38 is extended between the latches to bias them into engagement with a pair ot lugs 28 and 29 provided on projections 31 and 32, respective# ly, formed on movable contact member 3. As illustrated, the latches 26 and 27 are so and are disposed to be operated by actuating arm 18. When the arm18 is moved back and forth, it will engage'overlapping extensions 33 and 34, provided on the latches 5 and 6,

to disengage them from the lugs 28 and 29 on.

themovable contact member 3. Y

A shunt 35 is provided on the contacter tor connecting the movable contact member 3 to the binding post 39, and a similar shunt 36 is connected to the stationary Contact tip 12 and its support.

Assuming that the cout-actor is in open-cin cuit-makingposition, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the work arm 18 stands in its lower position. In this position, the latch 5 engages the lug 29, and the movable contact-carrying memberis lockedy in its lower position.

Upon the operation of the cam wheel 7,

' the work arm 18 is rotated counter-clockn wise about its pivot point 19, and the spring 21 is carried through its deadcenter position. As soon as the spring passes dead-center, it functions to bias the contactbarrying member to its upper or circuit closing position, and the tension on the spring 21 `becomes greater until the projection 11 on the work arm 18 engages the overlapping extension 311 on the latch 5 and 'disengages it from the whereupon `the contact-carrying arm 3 is moved to its upper position with a snap ac-A tion.

When the contacter is closed, the roller 25 on the work arm 18 will rest on the outer periphery of the cam Wheel 7, and the contactor will'remain closed so long as the roller 25V remains in t^ is relative position. over, when the cam is rotated, and the roller 25 reaches the point where the radii of the How-k v cam 7 decreases, the work arm 18 will shift its position responsive to the. tension in the spring 21, causing the spring 21 to pass from a position biasing the contact members 2 andV 3 into engagement, throughits deadcenter position, to a position urging the contact members apart. n

However, the latches 5 and 6 associated with the movable contact member 3,4 being constantly urged into engagement therewith, theV latch 6 retains the movable `contract 3 closed. f The contacter remains closed and the movable contact member 3 in its circuit-closing position until projection 42 on the work arm 18 engages the extension 33 on thelatch 6 and disenga'ges the latch 6 from thelocling lug 28. The movable contact member will then be caused to snap open to interruptthe circuit.

Itwill'be noted that the contact tipv 12 is ymounted and supported in contact with a spring 15 to permit a rolling action which reduces the arcmg and sparking between the tips 12 and 13 when the circuit is interrupted.

Further, it will be readily appreciated that,

through the operation of the latching means which is provided to restrain the .movement ot 'the movable contact-carrying member until the actuating springis biased a prede termined amount, practically any degreeV of speed may be imparted to the movable contact member 3, depending upon the strength of the Vactuating spring 21 and the placeV where the latches are disengaged, the purpose being to rapidly interrupt the circuit and reduce the arcing between the contacttips 12 and 13 to a minimum.

By mounting the shunts and 36 on the contactor, i(as illustrated) at the points where the least amount of whipping actionwill be imparted to them, the life of the shunts will be greatly increased. It will also be noted that, by' connecting the spring between the pivoted contact-carrying member 3 and the work arm 18, as illustrated, the springrfunctions to produce a rapid opening motion to the switch as well as a rapid closing motion.

While the illustrated'example constitutes a preferred embodimentof our invention, we do not limit ourselves strictly to the details herein shown, since, manifestly, the same may be vconsiderably varied without departing from the spirit of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. Y

We claim as'our invention:

1. A circuitfinterrupting device comprising a frame, a stationary contactmember carried by the frame, a movable contact member disposed to engage the stationary contact member, the movable contactmember being pivotally mounted on kthe frame, resilient latching members :disposed Eto enga-ge the movable con-tact member, an arm pivotally mounted on the frame for operating the mov able contact member, a cam member for-actuating the arm resilient means connecting the freely movable ends of the cam actuated arm and the movable contact member, said resilient means being disposed to bias the mov able contact member to different positions in response to the movement of the cam actuated arm and to cause said arm to continuously react against the cam, and means operated upon the actuation of said arm for operating the latching members to release the movable Contact member When the arm reaches dierent predetermined positions, to utilize the resilient means in actuating the movable contact member.

2. A circuit-interrupting device comprising a frame, a stationary contactmember carried by the frame, a movable Contact member pivotally mountedy on the frame, resilient latching members disposed to engage the movable contact member, a cam, an arm actuated by the cam for operating the movable contact member, resilient means connecting the cam actuated arm, and the movable contact member, said resilient means being disposed to bias the Contact member to different positions upon the operation of said cam, and being further adapted to retain the arm in engagement With the cam, and further means operated upon the actuating of said cam for disengaging the latching members to release the movable contact member when the cam reaches different predetermined positions to utilize the resilient means in actuating the movable contact member.

3. A circuit-interrupting device comprising, in combination, stationary and movable Contact members, resilient means for actuating the movable Contact member to different positions, an arm disposed for oscillatory movement for changing the line of application of force by the resilient means to effect the operation of a movable contact member, means for locking the movable Contact member in diferent positions and a cam for actuating the oscillatory arm, said arm being disposed to eect a release of the locking means and said resilient means being disposed to bias the arm into engagement with the cam continuously.

In testimony whereof, We have hereunto subscribed our names this 31st day of March, 1927, respectively.

EDARD E. ROSE. JOHN T. WELSH. 

